Mr Better Than Nothing
by RGAP-48
Summary: -COMPLETE- A Sami and Lucas story. Lucas doesn't believe that Sami can ever really love him. Sami creates a scheme to prove to him that he's more to her than Mr. Better-Than-Nothing.
1. Chapter One

Mr. Better-Than-Nothing

  
  


Chapter One

  
  


Sami was relieved that the horrible nightmare at the circus was finally over. She felt almost detached from the world around her, like everything that had happened that night at the circus had happened to someone else. They had eventually managed to get the tiger under control and Tony was sent away in an ambulance. Will had gone home with Grandpa Shawn and she was back in her own apartment, in her own bed.

The soothing warmth of Lucas' skin lingered on her right arm which was grazing Lucas' left arm. Smiling softly, she realized how glad she was that Lucas had agreed to stay with her that night. She had said they needed to stop having 'sleep-overs' but after the night she had, Lucas' presence made her feel safe.

After everything that had happened, she should have been exhausted. Instead, she was wide-awake, completely caught up in her own thoughts. Lucas continued snoring loudly beside her as she thought about what had happened in the clown car. She had been inwardly kicking herself for almost giving away her true feelings. But she hadn't wanted to lose him and the words rushed out of her mouth without her getting the chance to think them through, something that happened a lot with her.

She thought about the night of her father's wedding. He had died after she told him that she hated him. That was one of her biggest regrets, that he died without knowing how much she really loved him. Even though it was morbid, she began thinking about how she would feel if Lucas died not knowing how she felt about him. Sure, she had tried to deny having feelings for him but eventually she couldn't lie to herself anymore. And the truth was, it was getting harder to lie to Lucas about it every day. But she really was in love with Lucas, even though she could never tell him that. She could never let him know how she felt because she was afraid of how he would respond.

Still, the killer had already attacked her once, in that dark alley and there was no reason why he wouldn't go after her again. There wasn't anything stopping the killer from going after Lucas either. Suddenly, the idea of something happening to one of them without Lucas knowing that she loved him seemed unbearable. Swallowing hard and bracing herself for the worst kind of reaction from him, she began shaking his shoulder lightly. He jerked awake and looked over at her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly. She shook her head and opened her mouth to speak. But the words she wanted to say felt lodged in her throat. Lucas hadn't mentioned what had happened in the clown car yet and it almost seemed like he was afraid to bring it up.

"It's about what I said today in the clown car." she lowered her eyes, not wanting to see the expression on his face.

"You mean how you said that Will loved me and wouldn't be able to take it if he lost me?" Lucas played dumb, hoping she would drop it. There was no way he wanted to go into this with her, it was going to be way too hard for him to deal with.

"No, what I said before that." she whispered, "I meant what I said, Lucas. I do.... I..." the words were so hard to force out of her throat, knowing that if she said them and he didn't feel the same way, she would lose all her pride. But she had to say them, "I do love you."

Lucas stared at her in shock for a few minutes. He had never actually expected to hear her say those words and actually mean them but he had told himself that if she did say them, he would steel himself against the words. She didn't mean them, there was no way she could mean them. He knew her too well.

"No you don't." he said softly. Her eyes widened at his words and she felt her heart sinking at the expressionless look on his face. She didn't know what she had been expecting but she hadn't been expecting this.

"What do you mean?" she stuttered.

"You don't love me." he stated, as if he had never been more sure of something in his entire life, "You just think you do. But you can't love me, you never have."

"That's ridiculous." the backs of her eyelids stung with unshed tears, "Why would I tell you I loved you if I didn't?"

"Because you're lonely." he sighed, "I know you, Sami. You can't stand being alone. I was always here for you because I hate seeing you hurt and wanted to help in any way I could. But don't do this to yourself. Or to me. You're just grateful to me for helping you through everything that's going wrong in your life. Don't confuse that with something you're never going to be able to feel for me."

Sami eyed him carefully, trying to see if he meant everything he was saying or not. He was. He honestly believed everything he was saying. And underneath the expressionless mask, she could see hurt surfacing in his dark brown eyes.

"That's not true." she protested, "I do know what I'm feeling. I'm not confused and I can't believe you'd even suggest something like that!"

"You need someone in your life who's going to be there for you." Lucas responded, "Even if it's only me. But I was never your first choice. It was always Brandon, Austin, anyone but me. I'm sure I'm not even your second or third choice. I'm way down the list somewhere and I don't want to be with you just because you can't find someone better."

"You're a jerk, you know that?" she said, raising her voice slightly, "I told you I loved you, would it kill you to tell me how you feel about me? Even if you don't love me, I'd still like to know where I stand with you."

"I don't need to answer that because it doesn't matter." Lucas felt himself getting angry too, "All that matters is, I've always been a consolation prize. I was Carrie's consolation prize when she broke up with Austin and I was Nicole's consolation prize too. At least, my money was. I don't want to do that anymore. I can't take being another's woman's Mr. Better-Than-Nothing just because I'll never be anyone's Mr. Right."

She looked at him in disbelief. He actually thought he was a consolation prize to her. How could he think that? He was the prize, the only prize. There was no Brandon or Austin anymore, there was only him. And he had ruined her for any other guy she might come across. Because ever since the second time he had kissed her after Maggie's murder, she knew there was no way she would find two guys that could affect her like that with just one simple kiss. The touch of his lips on hers felt different, more real and more wonderful than anyone else's touch ever had.

He continued talking, "I'm not Austin. And I'm certainly not Brandon. But because they aren't here for you and I am, you're starting to tell yourself you're in love with me when you're not."

"I kissed you back." she whispered harshly, "Could you not tell how much I wanted you then, how much I still want you now? I need you, Lucas. You can't just sit here and tell me I don't know what I feel when I do."

"Sami, I care about you. I want to be your friend." he put one hand on her shoulder, "But that's all I'll ever be. I can't take advantage of you by being with you when I know deep down you just want someone, anyone. Not necessarily me, but it's all you can have because the men you really loved left you." she watched him pull himself off the bed and walk towards the door.

"What are you doing?" she tried to keep the panic from creeping out of her voice.

"I think it would be better if I stayed in my apartment tonight." he replied, "I don't think I should be here right now."

"I hate you." she spat out angrily before she realized what she was saying. As soon as she said it, her stomach churned with regret. The look on her face was enough to make her burst into tears. But she didn't, she had already lost enough pride tonight. Still, he looked so hurt that all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him. Then she would kiss him again and again until he was totally convinced that he was the only man in her life that she loved, the only one she would ever love.

"I knew that all along." he said softly and she heard the defeat in his voice, "Good-night, Sami." then he was gone. Sami couldn't contain the tears anyone and buried her face in her blankets. She rolled over, into the warm spot Lucas had left behind him. Why hadn't she ever seen how insecure he was before? All she knew was that she was going to do whatever she could to convince him that he wasn't her Mr. Better-Than-Nothing.

Lucas slumped against the door to Sami's apartment, still stung by Sami's last comment. He should have seen it coming after he had rejected her. But he had to do it, for both their sakes. He knew her better than anyone else did and he knew that she couldn't really love him. He had hurt her too many times for her to ever feel that way. He had been trying to make everything right between them again but a few nights of comforting her in her bed hardly made up for how he had worked with his mother to kill her. God knew he loved her. He loved her more than he loved anyone or anything else. That was why it cut him so deeply to know that she could never honestly return those feelings.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

  
  


The Kiriakas Mansion was heavily guarded by policeman when Sami arrived. A broad-shoulder policeman who looked to have the mental capacity of a sheep stood at the front door. She smiled brightly at him, determined to accomplish what she wanted to accomplish.

"Is there something I can do for you?" the policeman asked in a pleasant voice but he eyed her with mild suspicion.

"Actually there is." Sami responded in a cheerful voice, "I needed to talk to Mrs. Kiriakas about something very important. Do you think it's possible for you to let me inside?"

The policeman looked behind him at the front door uneasily, "I guess I could do that." he said doubtfully, "But Mrs. Kiriakas is being carefully watched because we're afraid she has something to do with the serial killings." he explained. Sami nodded politely and the policeman unlocked the front door after telling Sami that Victor and Brady were gone but Nicole should be in the house. Nicole wasn't allowed to leave without a police escort. He led Sami into the living room, where Nicole sat on the couch, half-heartedly flipping through a magazine.

The policeman left Nicole and Sami alone in the living room and went back outside to stand guard beside the front door. Nicole tossed the magazine towards an end table sitting near the couch. It missed and landed on the floor. Nicole sighed loudly and shot an exasperated look at Sami, like it was her fault.

"Why are you here?" Nicole asked in a bored voice. Sami went over and sat down on the couch next to Nicole. This was going to be a challenge but Lucas would be worth it. She had gone through so much effort make Austin hers and to keep Brandon in her life. She would do the same for Lucas, except that she realized now that he meant more to her than Austin and Brandon ever would. It wasn't a childhood crush and sibling rivalry like it had been with Austin and it wasn't lust like with Brandon. Her feelings for Lucas were so different from the ones she had for any other man and she knew now what real love felt like.

"I need your help." Sami admitted, her heart sinking as Nicole looked at her in amusement.

"And why would I help you?" Nicole laughed.

"Why shouldn't you?" Sami retorted, "You don't have anything to lose. It might even take your mind off being watched like a hawk by all those policemen out there." Nicole scowled at the mention of the men Victor had stationed outside the mansion, holing her up inside, "Besides, it's nothing major."

Nicole sighed again, "What are you up to now, Sami?"

Sami knew she was going to have to be honest with Nicole if she wanted help from her, "I'm in love with Lucas." she began, noticing that Nicole didn't seem stunned by her confession at all, "I tried to tell him that but he thinks he's just a replacement for the men I really do love and that I don't love him. And it's your fault. You wrecked him!" Sami added for good measure, hoping that guilt would work. She wasn't sure if she could get Nicole to feel guilt over Lucas' current state of mind but she could try.

"My fault?" Nicole repeated, "Exactly how is it my fault? How did I 'wreck' him?"

"Lucas said that he was just a consolation prize to you. He said that all you cared about was his money. And he's right, considering you were still in love with Eric when you married him. That's why he doesn't believe that I love him. Because of you!"

"I don't think so." Nicole shot back, "You've probably done a perfectly good job of making him feel worthless yourself. I heard about everything you did to him. You didn't even want him being the father of your child, let alone your lover or your husband. I think it's stupid you even had sex with him in the first place."

"It is not my fault." Sami protested but her mind was saying something else. It was saying that she was at least partly to blame. She suddenly remembered something she had said to him a while ago, when they had been arguing over something stupid like they often did.

"The only reason I ever had sex with you in that photo lab was because I was fantasizing that you were Austin!"

"You bitch."

"That's right. I don't think any women could ever have sex with you without imaging that you were someone else."

Sami finally thought about all the things she had said to him. For so long, she had told him that she was going to get Brandon back because Brandon had been her soul-mate, because Brandon completed her. She had been stupid and she hadn't been able to see that she the person that completed her had been right in front of her all along. She had done just fine without Brandon for a while now. The only man she couldn't live without was Lucas.

Nicole saw the look on Sami's face and stopped laughing, "I never meant to hurt Lucas. But he was just there and he was in the way. I had to do it. Besides, you helped me."

"And now you're going to help me, right?" Sami inquired, staring hard at Nicole. Nicole seemed to consider it for a few minutes.

"What do I have to do?" Nicole finally asked reluctantly.

A grin spread across Sami's face, "It's not that hard. All you have to do is get Brandon back in town. Make something up to get him back here. Then, I'll spend all my time with Lucas and completely ignore him. That will prove to Lucas that I don't love Brandon anymore and that I love him."

Nicole looked doubtful, "How do I know you're not just trying to get your claws back into my brother?"

"Well, I hope this doesn't offend you, but compared to Lucas, your brother is an insensitive jerk." Nicole let out a angered yelp but Sami continued, "Lucas understands what I'm thinking, he knows how I feel and he doesn't hold it against me like most people in this town do. I've hurt him and he's hurt me but he's still here and that means a lot to me. Your brother just ran off because I made one mistake. And I only did it because I was trying to save our relationship. He was the one who cheated on me with Lexie."

"Hey, it's my brother we're talking about here." Nicole held up a hand to silence her, "I'll get him out here but you had better not try and seduce him or anything like that."

Sami rolled her eyes, "I thought we had already established the fact that-"

"Sh." Nicole interrupted Sami, reaching for the cordless phone sitting next to her, "I'll call him right now."

"If he mentions me, tell him that I signed his annulment papers and that I'll give them to him in person when he comes back." Sami told her, reaching into her purse for the papers and the pen. She wanted to do it right away, completely ending her every part of her relationship with Brandon.

Nicole sat on the couch in silence for a few moments, the phone pressed against her right ear. She knew that it wouldn't be hard to get her brother back into Salem. She heard the distinctive click on the other end of the phone and her brother's voice come over the line.

"Brandon, it's Nicole." she began, trying to sound distraught. Brandon immediately picked up on the tone in her voice and was concerned.

"What's wrong, Nicky?" he asked, "You sound upset."

"I am upset." Nicole lied, trying to make it sound like she was crying, "I'm really scared. You have to come back to Salem."

Brandon was silent for a few moments, "Why?" he finally asked.

"It's Victor." Nicole lowered her voice, "He keeps making these threats to hurt me and I'm afraid that he's going to do it someday. I think my own husband is going to murder me. Brandon, you're my brother, you're the only one who can keep me safe from him."

Brandon let out a frustrated groan, "You know I can't do that, Nicky. You know why I left Salem in the first place. I had to get away from Sami."

"Sami isn't going to be a problem." Sami looked up from the papers at the mention of her name with interest, "She's over you. In fact, she has signed the annulment papers and wants to give them to you in person. I've seen the signed papers with my very own eyes."

"Since when did you and Sami get so close?" Brandon sounded suspicious.

"Well, over time, we've just sort of became friends again." Nicole lied casually, "And a lot of men think Sami is quite a catch. She's already found someone new, someone she is crazy about. But what did you expect? You didn't think she was going to wait around for you, did you?"

Brandon seemed to be digesting the news for a few seconds, "Who is this someone else?" he inquired.

"What difference does it make?" Nicole demanded, pretending to be hurt, "I cannot believe you are treating me like this, Brandon. I need you to protect me from Victor and you're too worried about Sami to come back. Obviously you really don't love me at all." Nicole smiled triumphantly at Sami, knowing that she had her brother extremely close to backing down. He had always wanted her to be happy and safe, he wasn't going to refuse after she had done her best to make him feel guilty.

"I'm sorry, Nicky." her brother responded contritely, "I'm not going to let Victor hurt you. I'll be on the next plane out of India back to Salem."

"Promise?" Nicole asked in a small voice.

"I promise." Brandon assured her and Nicole hung up the phone.

"He's coming back." Nicole told Sami, still looking uncertain, "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"It's fool-proof." Sami promised in a confident voice, "I'll make sure that Lucas sees that I want to be with him and not Brandon. Besides, now that I'm not in love with Brandon anymore, it will be fun to sort of mess with his head a little."

"You better watch it." Nicole warned her, "I don't want you upsetting my brother."

But Sami wasn't listening to Nicole's words. Her mind was already on getting Lucas to believe she loved him. She remembered how long she had been scheming with Lucas to get Austin to love her. It was funny how now she was scheming with Nicole to win Lucas over. And she wouldn't stop at anything to get him to see how she felt about him. If Brandon got a little riled up in the process, then that wasn't her problem.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Sami made sure to keep her expression calm and her steps even so Lucas wouldn't know anything was going on. He had agreed to come to the Brady Pub with her that night and Nicole had promised to get Brandon down to the pub as well. It would be the first time Sami would see him since he had returned to Salem. She and Lucas walked through the door together and her eyes immediately drifted from table to table, searching for Brandon and Nicole. Her eyes finally came to rest on the tall, dark haired man and a smile spread over her face. He was the man who would help make Lucas hers, even if he would never know it.

Lucas also spotted Brandon and his back went rigid at the sight of him. One look at Sami's face made his heart sink. The half-dreamy, half-determined expression on her face was enough to let him know exactly what she was thinking. She was going to try to get Brandon back. She still loved him. Knowing that brought on a gnawing sense of jealousy, even though it shouldn't have. It wasn't as if they were on a date. They had come to the Brady Pub as friends, Lucas had made sure to make that clear to Sami. Unfortunately, he had no claim on the beautiful woman he had come here with.

"You know he was going to be here, didn't you?" Lucas asked in a soft voice and Sami turned to stare at him when she heard the accusing tone of his voice.

"Of course not." her baby blue eyes held complete innocence and naivety, "I didn't even know he was coming back to Salem. I'm just as surprised as you are."

"Well, I'm sure you'd like to go over and talk to him, so I'll go find us a table." Lucas said stiffly. This was killing him and he inwardly cursed Brandon Walker for returning to Salem. It was bad enough that Sami would never want to be with him but now that he was back in town. He knew this probably meant that Sami would probably end up wasting all her time trying to get Brandon back and he didn't want to see that. Brandon wasn't worth it, Sami deserved better. So much better.

His hands longed to pull Sami up against him, to kiss her senseless until Brandon meant absolutely nothing to her, until she was no longer aware of his existence. Quickly, he pushed the thoughts away, and clenched his fists, waiting for Sami to go over to Brandon.

Sami smiled briefly, "Actually, I don't really want to but I have to give him this." she fished something out of her purse and held it out for him to see, "The annulment papers. I signed them, I want Brandon out of my life for good."

Everything fell into place for Lucas and his eyes darkened angrily, "You didn't know Brandon Walker was going to be here tonight but you just happened to be carrying those papers around? I know what this is about, Sami. You might be able to get away with manipulating some people but not me. I'm not going to help you make Brandon jealous. If you want him back so badly, find a way to get him back without involving me in one of your stupid schemes."

"You think that I'm using you to make him jealous?" Sami's mouth dropped open in horror, "Lucas, I would never- I wouldn't- I don't want Brandon in my life anymore. I'm over him."

"I'm sure you are." Lucas shot back sarcastically, "Don't even try that with me, Sami. I'm not blind. I saw the way you looked at him when you came in."

Before Sami could protest, Nicole cut into their conversation, "Sami, didn't you notice that my brother is back in town? I'm surprised you didn't go running up to him the moment you saw him."

Lucas glared at Sami and brushed past her angrily, "Have fun with Brandon, Sami." he muttered before stalking out the door. Sami whirled around to watch him walk through the parking lot. She couldn't believe that her perfect plan was already going wrong. Lucas thought she was using him to get Brandon when it was the other way around. And Lucas had no idea how wrong he was. She had to go find him.

"Here, give Brandon these." Sami shot Nicole an apologetic look as she stuffed the papers into Nicole's hand, "I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

She left before Nicole had a chance to reply. Lucas was unlocking his car door and she broke into a run so that she could get to him before he left her at the Brady Pub. Before he got into the car, she grabbed his arm. He just looked at her for a moment, then yanked his arm away from her.

"What are you doing? Did Brandumb reject you?" he asked, his face hard and void of any expression. Sami could tell he was trying his best to keep his true feelings from surfacing.

"No, I didn't even try to talk to him. I didn't want to. I came here because I wanted to spend the evening with you. I really didn't know Brandon was going to be there. And if you're going to leave, then I'm coming with you." Sami informed him and his face softened visibly.

"If that's what you want." he said finally but he felt a surge of triumph and hope at her words. Maybe she really was over Brandon. Maybe she really did want him instead. He quickly shot down the idea and decided that was going too far.

They drove back to the apartment building and he and Sami made their way up to Sami's apartment. Once inside, Sami looked at him expectantly.

"I'm glad we didn't stay and eat dinner at the Brady Pub." she told him, "I wasn't that hungry anyway."

"What are we going to do now?" he asked her, sitting down on the couch and resting his hands on the back of his head casually. Sami thought about it for a minute.

"We could watch movies." she went over to her VCR and picked up two videotapes, "Belle slept over here the other night because she said we hadn't spent enough time lately and that having sleep overs with Shawn was getting too tempting. She left two of her videos over here and she wanted me to watch them."

"What videos?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Harvard Man and Cruel Intentions." Sami rolled her eyes, "Belle's finally gotten past her obsession with Days of the Week Panties and her newest obsession is Sarah Michelle Gellar. You should hear Belle go on and on about how great Sarah Michelle Gellar is. It's a little scary."

Lucas smirked, "Maybe that's why she pretends to want to wait until marriage. Because she knows deep down that Shawn would never compare to Sarah."

"Ew!" Sami threw a pillow at Lucas, which hit him square in the face, "Don't even suggest something like that. My sister does not fall in love with girls! Besides, how do you know about her and Shawn's plans to wait until marriage?"

"She asked me if I wanted to see her purity ring once." Lucas grimaced, "It was sometime during the summer. After she finished telling me about her ring and how great Shawn was, she started telling me to tell Phillip to stay away from Cassie because they were such a bad match. I think she was just a little jealous. I barely knew her and she just started talking to me and she wouldn't shut up."

Sami tilted her head sympathetically, "At least she never wants to spend the night at your apartment. She was so busy telling me all about all her favourite Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes, I didn't get any sleep at all."

Lucas laughed, "Which one are we going to watch first?" he asked.

"Let's watch Harvard Man." Sami decided, pushing the tape into the VCR. She sat down next to Lucas and they sat in silence through the commercials. The movie finally came on and Lucas immediately snorted loudly when Sarah Michelle Gellar and Adrian Grenier came on the screen.

"I wonder what your sister likes about this movie, Sami. Are you sure she doesn't have a thing for Sarah Michelle Gellar? Because judging from these first scenes-"

"I don't think Belle's even watched this yet. And if she has, I don't know if she'd even understand it, being the Virgin Mary she is." Sami commented, pulling her gaze away from the television set. She hoped the entire movie wasn't going to be like this because watching two people go at it doggy style on the TV while she was sitting next to Lucas not doing anything with him was pure torture. She suddenly jumped off the couch.

"I'm going to make daiquiris." she told Lucas, who gave her a dirty look in return, "Non-alcoholic ones, of course." she added quickly, "When Belle slept over, she brought all the stuff to make them with her and I still have some of the strawberry kind left."

She left the living room, hoping the scenes would be over by the time she finished making the daiquiris. She took out her blender and then added the ice and the strawberry daiquiri sauce. She briefly considered adding something to his drink, like she had done with Austin but quickly decided against it. She wanted to win Lucas over without having to resort to manipulating him with drugs, money or anything else she had used or considered using before.

She carried the two glasses into the living room and sat down beside Lucas. Harvard Man actually turned out to be a very boring movie so she went into her bedroom to get changed into her pajamas and then spent the rest of the time on the couch fantasizing about Lucas. She could fantasize about Lucas all day and not get bored of it. Her fantasies would always have slight variations, like the location. She could get very creative sometimes. There had been that one very vivid fantasy about the two of them on that trampoline with a sprinkler underneath it in the middle of summer, that had to be her current favourite.

By the time she took Harvard Man out of the VCR and replaced it with Cruel Intentions, she realized that she had been sitting there for over and hour thinking about how wonderful it would be to be able to touch Lucas and hadn't done anything about it. The movie began playing and she watched Lucas out of the corner of her eye. They were sitting really close together on the couch and for someone who was usually so talkative, he hadn't been very talkative that night. He had glanced at her a few times but that was it. Maybe he was still mad at her for what had happened at the Brady Pub. She could try and fix that.

When she thought he wasn't watching her, she leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. His mouth was stiff and unresponsive for a few seconds but finally he kissed her back, running his tongue over her smooth lips and cupping her face in his hands. Sami parted her lips slightly, allowing the object of her lust access into the cavity of her mouth. Once Lucas' tongue slipped inside her mouth, he felt liked he had just been jolted with an electrical shock. As he kissed her, all he could picture was the dreamy expression on her face when she saw Brandon. No matter what she said, she still loved the guy and he had no idea where that left him or why she was kissing him like this.

He put one hand on her shoulder and pushed her away from him, softly and firmly at the same time. Her eyes glittered with confusion as she stared up at him and he shook his head.

"Sami, I thought we had already been over this. I'm not going to use you. Don't make this any harder for methan it already is." he said, watching as her lower lip protruded, her mouth forming the cutest little pout he had ever seen. It was all he could do to stop himself from leaning down and kissing those full, velvety lips again.

"Lucas, when are you going to get it-" she began and Lucas stopped her from saying anything else by placing his fingers on his lips. God, he loved her mouth. It was perfect, her lips were soft and warm and they held the faint scent of strawberries from her drink. He could feel his entire body aching, almost needing to touch her, needing her to touch him. She was the one thing that almost made him lose all his self-control completely.

"If it's going to be too hard for you to control yourself, I'll leave." he said softly, a hint of amusement sounding in his voice. Sami shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I'll behave." she responded in a voice that was a mixture of playful and disappointed, then wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head on his chest. The aroma of her shampoo, which smelled like a mixture of vanilla and coconut, was enough to drive him insane. But he was unable to push her off him a second time, so Lucas simply ran his fingers up and down her left arm with one hand and let the other hand move on top of her hands, which had settled at his waist.

About halfway through Cruel Intentions, Lucas shifted slightly and noticed that Sami was asleep. He slipped carefully out from under her, so he didn't wake her up. He carried her into her bedroom and made sure she was nestled beneath the sheets comfortably. He took a few minutes to admire how sweet she looked, her blonde hair splayed out behind her on her pillow, her closed eyes framed by thick, blonde lashes. She looked so angelic, just laying there like that.

"Good-night, Sami." he whispered quietly. She stirred in her sleep and her lips formed an unconscious half-smile.

"Good-night, daddy." she murmured, catching Lucas completely off guard. He hated moments like this. He loved her no matter how she was acting, the things she said to him when she was mad could even make him want her even more on some occasions. But then there were times he would look at her and it was like he was falling in love with her all over again. Like that moment. And it hurt worse every single time because his feelings would never be returned.

It felt like sharp pains were slicing into him as he watched her sleep. She still missed her dad so much, he could hear it in the way she mistook him for Roman and told him good-night. He was hurting for her and he hadn't realized that he was almost crying until Sami's beautiful face turned into a blurry haze. Her fingered a strand of her silky hair and exhaled shakily.

"You're dad might be gone, Sami. But I'm still here and I'm not going to leave you ever. I'm always going to be here for you." he whispered as quietly as he could, "I promise." he wanted to crawl in bed with her and let her curl up against his body like she often did but he stopped himself. Instead, he kissed her cheek and left the bedroom. He made sure to turn off the television and the lights before leaving her apartment.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"What happened with you and Lucas the other night?" Nicole asked, swirling her drink around with her straw. Nicole had called Sami and asked her to meet at the Brady Pub so they could discuss something. Nicole had sounded excited on the phone and Sami was eager to find out what was going on.

"Lucas thought I was trying to make Brandon jealous by showing up here with him." Sami explained, "But we spent the night at my apartment and I think I'm really making progress with him."

"Good." Nicole nodded approvingly, "That's just what I wanted to hear."

"Why?" Sami asked curiously. Nicole had really seemed to be putting a lot into getting Sami and Lucas together now, not that Sami minded. She needed all the help she could get.

"Well, Jennifer came over to the mansion yesterday, to talk to Brady. I overheard her tell Brady that Bonnie Lockhart came up with this idea for a fund-raiser and convinced Mickey to put her plan into action. They're doing this bachelor auction thing on Valentine's Day and Jennifer is in charge. She's going around asking men in Salem if they want to be auctioned off."

"Your point is?" Sami prompted.

"I saw the list of names Jennifer already had down." Nicole grinned, "Along with Phillip, Brady and Brandon, Lucas was also on the list of names for the men being auctioned off."

Sami felt her heart rate speed up at the news, "This is absolutely perfect." she leaned back in her seat and took a long, satisfied sip of her drink, "I can use this to help me get Lucas."

"That was what I was thinking." Nicole said wryly, "I was pretty excited too. Until Victor came in and gave Jennifer a one thousand dollar check in advance ensuring that I was not allowed to bid on Brady or Phillip. God, I hate him."

"Me too." Sami agreed, staring into space as she formulated her plan. Nicole noticed the look on Sami's face and smirked.

"What are you thinking about?" Nicole asked.

"I need your help." Sami told her, "Look, I am going to buy Lucas at this auction. But I want him to get at least double whatever money Brandon gets. Actually, make that triple. You have to help me."

"How?" Nicole questioned.

"You have to bid on Lucas too." Sami informed Nicole, "And then every time you bid, I'll just bid higher. Then that will prove that I love him and not Brandon."

Nicole stared at Sami in horror, "I don't want to bid on Lucas. Everyone will think I'm desperate! Besides, if I bid on him along with all the other women at the auction who want to buy him, you're wasting even more money."

Sami sighed in exasperation, "Don't you get it? I'd pay a million dollars if I had to because Lucas is worth it."

"Do you even have a million dollars?" Nicole scoffed, shaking her head in amusement at Sami's words. Sami was so head over heels in love with the guy it was funny. Even she wasn't this bad with Brady. At least she hoped she wasn't.

"That isn't the point." Sami's eyes bore into Nicole's beseechingly, "Please, Nicole? I'll never ask you for anything else ever again, I promise."

Nicole rolled her eyes, "This is going to be pretty embarrassing but fine, I'll do it."

"It won't be embarrassing." Sami countered, "Lucas is an amazing guy and you're lucky you once had the wonderful chance to be married to him." Nicole scoffed again, earning a dirty look from Sami, "I'm serious. If I had been in your position, I would have-"

"Harshly rejected him and went back to chasing Austin?" Nicole offered helpfully. Sami seemed to think about it for a moment, then lowered her head in shame.

"Probably." she replied sadly, "I can't believe I tried so hard to get so many different guys when the most perfect one was right in front of me all along."

"You shouldn't feel sorry for yourself." Nicole responded, "At least you've come to your senses and realized that he's the one you really want."

Sami looked at Nicole with unconcealed amazement, "When did you stop being so bitchy and start actually becoming kind of tolerable?"

"Oh, I had just spent to much time around Victor." Nicole quipped, "It was all his fault. But now that I've been spending so much time with Brady, it's changed me. I'm a much better person now." she laughed at the idea, "Actually, I'm just trying to take my mind off being followed around by policemen, like you said I should. And trying to do the near impossible of getting you and Lucas together is as good a way to do it as anything else."

"The near impossible?" Sami yelped in mock outrage, "That isn't true. Lucas and I have become very close, it's just Lucas' insecurities that are getting in the way. But once I make sure those are gone, we'll finally get to be together."

"All right." Sami tuned Nicole out for a moment and looked around the pub. Her eyes rested on Bonnie Lockhart sitting with Celeste and a wicked smile crossed over her face. She knew how to make this bachelor auction even more memorable and all she had to do was talk Bonnie into doing what she wanted her to do.

"Ew, Sami, you aren't fantasizing about Lucas, are you?" Nicole couldn't contain her disgust as she watched Sami absentmindedly roll the straw between her fingers, an half-smile on her face.

"Why would you think that?" before Nicole could answer, Sami called Bonnie over to their table and the older woman stood up and came over.

"What can I do for you, doll?" Bonnie drawled, an wide, artificial smile spreading across her whole face. Sami smiled back at the woman before answering.

"I just wanted to tell you what an amazing idea I think this bachelor auction is and I'm so happy you suggested it. In return for you coming up with this fabulous idea, I wanted to give you some very good advice."

"I'm all ears." Bonnie responded, leaning in closer to hear.

"I'm sure you'll want to place a bid on one of the men in the auction and I know the perfect match for you." Bonnie's eyes widened in excitement and she gestured for Sami to go on, "You know my ex-husband, Brandon Walker? You two would definitely have a great time."

"Brandon Walker?" Bonnie repeated uncertainly.

"You have to know who he is." Sami replied, "Tall, broad-shouldered, actually he's big all around, if you know what I mean." Sami gave the woman a suggestive wink. That was a little white lie but Bonnie would probably never realize that.

"Sweet Jesus." Bonnie licked her lips, causing Nicole to cringe, "Tell me more."

"He's a wonderful gentle-man." Sami began, realizing she was going to have to lay it on thick because there weren't too many truthful compliments she could pay Brandon anymore, "He's incredibly rich and he has a thing for older women."

"This is like a dream come true." Bonnie pressed her hand against her heart dramatically and grinned down at Sami, "You have no idea how much this means to me, sweetheart. I'll make sure I buy that man, if it's the last thing I do." she practically skipped back to Celeste's table. After she was gone, Nicole made a little noise that reminded Sami of a sound a hurt bird would make.

"What was that?" Nicole hissed, "Why did you set my brother up with that trashy woman?"

"I didn't set him up with her, I just gave dear old Bonnie a little advice." Sami shot back, "She didn't have to take the advice, she did that all on her own."

Nicole scowled at Sami but Sami averted her gaze to her drink and took another sip. From the looks of things, this was going to be a very memorable Valentine's Day, especially if she got her way with Lucas after the auction.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Sami watched triumphantly as Brandon was auctioned off to Bonnie Lockhart for a pathetic thirty dollars. The other two men before him had gotten at least fifty dollars but then again, Bonnie had started a rumour that Brandon was an abusive nymphomaniac that only she could handle. Two other women had half-heartedly bid on Brandon, probably more out of pity than anything else. Brandon yanked off the number three sign that had been hanging around his neck and threw it in a trash can. He looked over at Sami in confusion. He had been positive she was going to bid on him. Had he gotten less irresistible since the last time she had seen him?

Sami gripped Nicole's arm excitedly, "After the next two guys, Lucas is going to be up." Sami looked over at Lucas through lowered lashes, noticing that he looked even more gorgeous than usual in the dark suit. She had bought a new dress for the night, a dark red dress with a low-cut neckline. Nicole stood beside her in a strapless hot pink dress, looking past Lucas at the flaxen haired man behind him.

"After Lucas, Brady is up." Nicole added, her eyes shimmering with anticipation.

"I thought you said you weren't allowed to bid on Brady." Sami reminded her friend, who smirked at Victor, who was standing in the back of the large room, near John and Kate.

"I'm not." Nicole sneered at her husband, who was too engrossed in conversation with Kate and John to notice, "But did you really think that was going to stop me?"

"Then how are you going to-" Sami was cut off by a group of girls standing a few feet away from herself and Nicole.

"I can't believe you're going to bid on number six, Christa!" a tall Chinese woman practically shrieked, causing both Nicole and Sami to look over with interest. Lucas was the sixth man that was going to be auctioned off.

"Yeah, are we not good enough for you or something?" another woman added, her light blonde haired died black on the tips.

"You know you are, Kaitlin." a shorter redhead, who was obviously Christa, replied, "But we came here because we've been with each other so long, we wanted to remember what it was like to be with a man again. That was the whole point! Besides, you already bid on that nymphomaniac the old woman bought."

Kaitlin rolled her eyes, "I only bid on number three because I felt sorry for him. No one else was bidding on him. But I didn't really want him, you actually want to go out with number six. I'm with Sunny, I can't believe you would betray us like this."

"You said it was okay!" Christa protested, "We agreed to take a break this Valentine's Day. And I want number six!"

Before Nicole could stop her, Sami stalked over to the redhead, "Excuse me, I hate to tell you this but number six is mine."

"Really?" Christa raised an eyebrow, "Do you even know his name?"

Nicole had made it over to them by this time and said, "It's Lucas." just as Sami said, "It's none of your business."

Christa grinned at Sami, "Lucas? Great, I haven't even bought him and I'm already on a first name basis with him."

"You are not going to buy him." Sami hissed angrily, "He's mine and I'd die before letting you walk away with my man!"

"Don't threaten my girlfriend!" Kaitlin screeched, clenching a pen tightly in her hand and extending her arm backwards, "Want me to jab her eye out with my pen, Christa?"

"It's okay, Kaitlin." Christa sighed and looked over at the two women standing beside her, "I would love to spend the night with my girlfriends but we're very insecure about making public displays of affection, we started having feelings for each other in the ninth grade but didn't admit it until after we had graduated. It's so hard being one-third of a bisexual threesome."

"You freak!" Sami sputtered, "There is no way Lucas would ever want to be with you after you did that with them. Not to mention that I have a son with him, so I'm sure you're not going to win him."

"A son?" Sunny scoffed, "I don't think so. Wow, she's even crazier than you are, Kaitlin."

"I'm not crazy!" Kaitlin exclaimed, then seemed to back down, "Well, maybe a little bit but you guys still love me, right?"

"Of course." Sunny assured her and Kaitlin sighed with relief. Sami watched the exchange with growing disgust.

"I'm leaving but I swear, I am not going to let you buy him." Sami promised, just as the fifth guy was auctioned off. Sami walked away from the three, shaking her head in amazement.

"Those three scared the shit out of me." Nicole grinned at Sami, "Looks like you have some competition now, huh?"

"Shut up." Sami grumbled, deciding she was going to wait until a little while into the auction for Lucas before bidding on him, just so she kept him guessing. Right away five or six women, including Christa, jumped in and began bidding on him. Nicole didn't bid right away but once the price reached forty, she finally got up the courage to yell out, "Forty-five."

Victor, Kate, Brady and Lucas all turned to stare at Nicole in shock. Nicole lowered her head as Christa raised the price to fifty. By the time the price reached seventy, everyone except Christa and Nicole had stopped bidding. Sami decided this was her moment to step in.

"Eighty dollars!" she called. Lucas was now staring at Nicole and Sami with wide eyes and Kate let out an enraged shriek.

"How dare they!" she fumed, "How dare Nicole and Sami bid on my son! I can't let them win him. She fished through her purse, "I know have enough money in here to outbid them."

John stared at Kate in horror, "You can't buy someone you're related to, Kate. I'm sure they're just playing around, Sami surely doesn't really want to buy Lucas and Nicole definitely doesn't either."

"My wife is probably just doing it to get back at me." Victor grumbled, "Maybe I should buy Lucas."

John shook his head emphatically, "What is wrong with you two tonight? Maybe you should leave the building for a while."

The price continued to climb higher and Christa was refusing to back down, much to Sami's dismay. After bidding one hundred and thirty dollars, Sami pinched Nicole on the arm so Nicole quickly bid one hundred and forty.

"Christa, stop this right now!" Kaitlin ordered her girlfriend, "You're getting too carried away."

"I know." Christa admitted sheepishly, "But you know how competitive I am and I can't let the blond bimbo's win. Besides, my daddy gave me all this money and I can't let it go to waste, now can I?"

"Daddy's whore." Sunny coughed behind her hand, just loud enough for Kaitlin to hear. Christa turned back to the front of the building.

"I am so sick of this." she murmured, then yelled, "Two hundred dollars!"

Sami's eyes widened and she looked at Nicole with panic flickering across her face, "I only brought one hundred and fifty dollars."

"That was stupid." Nicole said bluntly.

"Well, I didn't expect it to be like this, how was I supposed to know there was some weirdo here that wasn't going to leave my Lucas alone." Sami shot back.

"He's not your Lucas yet." Nicole commented dryly, "From the looks of things, he's going to be Christa's Lucas."

"Don't even say that." Sami lowered her voice, "Look, we can share him, okay? We'll both pay a little bit of money."

"This is dumb." Nicole whined, looking over at Lucas, who had seemed to have gotten over the shock of having Nicole and Sami bid on him. Now he had this little smirk on his face and he seemed to be enjoying the three women fighting over him.

"Going once, going twice!" Mickey Horton bellowed in a deep voice, looking over at Nicole and Sami questioningly.

"Nicole!" Sami dug her nails into Nicole's arm, who reluctantly handed Sami a fifty dollar bill.

"Two-hundred and ten." Sami called out before Mickey could auction off Lucas to Christa. Christa glared at Sami and yelled out loudly.

"Two-hundred and fifty!"

"I hate her." Sami hissed, snatching some more bills out of Nicole's hand, "Five hundred dollars!"

Shocked gasps and murmurs were heard everywhere but Sami ignored everyone. She was too busy looking at the horrified and defeated look on Christa's face. Christa was silent now and Mickey shouted, "Sold to Samantha Brady and Nicole Kiriakas. Looks like we're going to make even more money than we thought we were."

Nicole and Sami went up to the front to get Lucas as Kate collapsed against John in shock. Christa turned to her girlfriends and shook her head sadly.

"It was worth the try." she mumbled, then brightened, "But I've still got you two and we always have a good time together. Let's go back to Kaitlin's place and get drunk!"

Lucas grinned and wrapped his arms around Sami and Nicole's shoulders, "I don't know what you two are up to but I'm flattered you both wanted me that much. I'm sure you're both disappointed you're going to have to share me."

Nicole moved away from him, "Ew, no. I'm don't want you at all. Jan is going to buy Brady for me, so I'm just going to leave you two alone now." Lucas didn't look very disappointed, in fact he looked happier at the prospect of spending the night alone with Sami.

Jan ended up buying Brady for seventy-five dollars. Shawn and Belle looked at each other in confusion.

"Why is Jan Spears back in Salem?" Belle asked in an alarmed voice, "And why did she just buy my brother?"

"I have no idea." Shawn looked over at Jan thoughtfully, "I wonder how she's doing."

"I'm surprised you even want to know." Belle snapped but her heart wasn't in it. She wasn't thinking about Shawn or the chances of losing him to Jan. Instead, she kept thinking about Brandon. She had always had a huge crush on him but he had thought she was too young for him. She wished she could have been the one to buy him instead of Bonnie but Shawn would have been upset. She looked over at Sami, who was leaving the building with Lucas in tow. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and she wondered what Sami was up to. There was no doubt in Belle's mind that Sami was planning something, something that had to do with Brandon. And Belle refused to let her get away with it.

Lucas and Sami ate dinner at the Blue Note that night. Sami put her charm on full force, although she knew the dinner didn't mean half as much as the event that she would make sure took place at her apartment that night. Still, the time she spent with Lucas at the Blue Note was a lot of fun. She enjoyed the way he seemed to be torn between enjoyment and awkwardness at the same time when she ran her foot along his leg seductively under the table.

After leaving the restaurant, Lucas started driving Sami back to her apartment. He steered the car out of the parking lot and Sami leaned over and began nibbling his ear and trailing wet kisses down his neck. His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter than he needed to and he wished Sami wasn't so God damn overpowering. It was bad enough at the restaurant when she playing a very intense game of footsies with him underneath the table. He was having a harder and harder time resisting her advances.

"Sami, I can't drive when you're..... doing that." he finished, swallowing hard.

"It isn't that hard is it?" she asked coyly, sliding her hand up the inside of his thigh, "Just stay between the yellow lines. You can do that, right?"

"Sami....." Lucas moaned, unable to finish a complete sentence. It took every ounce of control he had in him to keep from steering the car into the wrong lane so he couldn't exactly move her hands off him. Did she really think it was that easy for him to drive in a straight line when she had just given him a boner that could steer the car itself? He pressed down on the accelerator, wanting to make the drive as short as possible. Then there would be less of a chance of him getting himself and Sami into accident all because of Sami's ministrations.

Sami fought back the elated giggle threatening to burst out of her throat. Lucas hadn't pushed her away at all the night and she hoped he wasn't about to start. Because as soon as they back to her apartment, she was going to make sure he realized just how much she loved him.


	6. Chapter Six NC17

Chapter Six

~*~

Author's Note: The first part of this chapter is focussed on Brandon and Bonnie's evening at Tuscany. It's strictly PG but once we get to Lucas and Sami, the rating kind of goes WAY up. But it is Valentines Day and I couldn't help myself. So if you aren't a fan of smut, once you get to the stars, you should probably stop reading. This will be the only NC-17 chapter in the entire story, I promise. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story so far, you guys rock and keep the feedback coming.

~*~

Bonnie flung her napkin down and leaned back in her seat happily. She clumsily swiped at the glass in front of her and knocked it over in the process. Her tall glass of Jack Daniels' Whiskey sloshed all over the table, spilling into Brandon's lap. He grunted angrily and got off his chair, trying to wipe up the mess with a napkin. This woman was doing an amazing job of driving him crazy.

She had immediately ordered him to drive her to Tuscany, which did not look a thing like he remembered it. It had been turned into a country-western restaurant. As soon as they sat down, Bonnie had started gushing about the decorations in the restaurant and how she had designed the entire layout. Then she had ordered a huge meal, along with glass after glass of alcohol. So not only did he have a drunk woman on his hands but he had a drunk woman that didn't know how to shut up on his hands.

"Oops, sorry, honey!" Bonnie smiled drunkenly up at him, "Would you mind cleaning up the table a little bit? I have to get a waiter over here so he can refill my glass."

Brandon pushed back his growing irritation with Bonnie. But it was really hard to do. Bonnie was one of the most aggravating woman he had ever met, not to mention she had spent a good chunk of his annual salary.

"I think you've had enough." he snapped finally, "I don't have an endless amount of cash and I would really appreciate it if you take note of that. Do you realize how much money I have already spent on you tonight?"

"Not that much." Bonnie gave him a tipsy smile, "Not for you, anyways. Sami told me how rich you are. She was the one who told me to bid on you. She's the reason we're here tonight, having such a great time. Damn, I wish the waiter would get over here. I want another drink!"

Brandon blinked twice, "Sami told you to bid on me?"

Bonnie giggled, "That's right. I hope she's having as good a time with Lucas as I am with you. But that probably isn't possible, you know what I mean? I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun."

"I can't believe this." Brandon grumbled, still wiping at his pants, "She completely humiliated me tonight. I got picked by you for only thirty dollars when Lucas got...." he had to think about it for a minute, "Over fifteen times that much!"

Bonnie clapped her hands gleefully, "I just love a man that can do math!"

Brandon looked up to see the waiter bringing Bonnie another glass of whiskey, "What the hell? I said no more and I meant it!"

He took the glass from her and took a long drink. He needed this a lot more than she did. Bonnie pouted and looked away from him. She spotted someone else across the room and her eyes lit up.

"Mickey!" she squealed happily, getting up and beginning to wobble towards the old man. She turned back to Brandon for a moment, "It was great fun, dollface. But you can call me when you get the bug out of your ass, okay?" with that, she was gone.

Brandon pulled on his jacket and glared at Bonnie. He just wanted to go back to the mansion and forget what a horrible night he had just had with Bonnie. It was bad enough to be bought by her for only thirty dollars but then to be rejected by her as well, all in the same night too. His ego had done a lot of deflating but it was so big that it didn't do that much damage. He was staying at the Kiriakas Mansion so he could make sure Victor didn't hurt Nicole. But Nicole was going to be out late with Brady tonight. Sami was with Lucas. Everyone had a Valentine except him. Oh joy, he thought to himself, writing out a large check for himself and Bonnie's meal before leaving Tuscany.

*******************************************************************************

Sami stood in her bedroom in front of the full length mirror as she checked over her reflection. She wanted to look perfect when she went out there to give Lucas the surprise she had told him she had for him. She smoothed the dark red material over her hips and ran one hand through her silky blonde hair. Quickly reaching over to her dresser, she grabbed a small bottle and applied a small amount of rose-scented perfume. Throwing her reflection a parting smile of admiration, she sauntered back into the leaving room where Lucas was sitting on the couch. The same couch she had kissed him on, the same couch he had told her to control herself on. He wouldn't stop her that night, she refused to let him leave her apartment until she made him see the truth.

"So, where's the surprise?" he asked her, watching as she continued ambling towards him, her eyes taking on an alluring glow. He knew that look and knew what was going to happen if he didn't stop her. But before he could move, she was already climbing on top of him, straddling his hips with reckless abandon, leaning in to claim his mouth with hers. She continued her invasion of his all-too responsive mouth as Lucas pulled her body even closer to his with one arm. His other hand tangled in her soft, flaxen locks of hair.

Sami could taste his desire as his tongue darted between the opening of her lips, smoothing along the inside of her cheeks and mouth. This was what she had been waiting for and she was not going to let him back down tonight. Her entire body screamed for him, his name sounding over in her head. Lucas. Lucas. Lucas. She had to have him. Her hungry hands removed the dark dress jacket, letting it fall beneath their impassioned bodies. Before Lucas could stop her, she had the top button of his shirt unbuttoned and was preparing to get to work on the second.

He took hold of her wrists, causing her to stop her act of undressing him, "Sami, what are you doing?" he asked in shaky voice, trying to fight off the growing sensation in his pants. This was not normal, the way Sami could regress him to reacting to her touch like a horny teenager. Having a perpetual boner like this was not normal. But when Sami started touching him like this, he had a hard time keeping it down.

Sami smiled innocently at him, "I think you know exactly what I'm doing." she responded, her fingers grazing his cheek. Lucas silently cursed Sami for not giving up.

"We can't, Sami." Lucas told her, tenderly cradling the side of her face in his hands, "I already told you why. Stop trying to put yourself in a situation you don't want to be in."

"Lucas...." she whispered, her eyes filling up with tears, "Please stop saying that. I meant it when I said I loved you both times I said it and I don't know why you can't just accept it. I love you and only you. I don't know how else to show you anymore, so please don't push me away again."

"Are you sure?" he asked her gently, cupping her chin in his hands and running his thumb over her lower lip.

Sami felt herself getting angry now and she roughly pushed his hands away from her, "Stop asking me that! Look, I've finally figured out where you're coming from and I'm sorry I ever bothered." she tried to stand up but she forgot she was sitting in Lucas' lap and almost fell over backwards off him. He wrapped his arms around her to steady her and pulled her back up to face him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked her in confusion, not understanding the reason for her sudden change in mood.

"I said I loved you more than once." she choked out, her voice racked with pent-up sobs, "But you never said it once. You don't feel anything for me and you're just using your theory of you being my second choice as an excuse so you don't have to deal with me."

His eyes widened at the jarring impact of her words. She couldn't really think that. She had to know how much he loved her, even if he had never said it. But one look at the miserable and disappointed expression on her face as she tried to extricate herself from his arms told him that she did believe what she was saying. The same way he had believed she wanted him to be nothing more than a replacement for the loves in her life she had lost.

His arms held her in an unshakable embrace as she sniffled, fighting back another wave of tears. Lucas gazed into her eyes lovingly, sweeping away the tears with one hand.

"We've both been stupid." he told her, "I never believed you loved me and now you don't even know how I feel about you. But Sami, I never told you the truth because I thought it would make things harder on you."

She grabbed onto the lapels of his shirt, "The only thing that is going to make things harder on me is going another minute without knowing the truth. Lucas, I need to know."

He captured her lips with his own, nipping at the bottom lip, them running his tongue over the velvety softness to soothe them. The natural sweetness of her lips lingered in his mouth when he pulled away.

"I love you, Sami." he said in a near whisper, feeling as if he had just exposed himself to her completely, "I have for a long time. That's why I couldn't do anything I thought you didn't want to happen."

She sagged against his chest slightly in relief, savouring the warm bulk of his body, "I love you too." she murmured, "I need you tonight, Lucas. I want us to be together."

Without waiting for his answer, her lips moved back on top of his. Her fingers went back to work on his shirt, deftly undoing the second and third button. The fourth button snapped off the shirt, falling between the couch cushions but Lucas didn't care. He began stroking her inner lips with his tongue once more, wanting to explore every crevice and hollow of her addictive mouth.

After completely unbuttoning his shirt, Sami tore it off him desperately, then allowed her hands to roam over the firm muscles of his chest and stomach. Lucas growled in approval, the sound reverberating into Sami's mouth. She finally broke the kiss and lowered her head, planting wet, openmouthed kisses onto the warm, honey-coloured skin of his chest. They had only been together once, so many years ago in the Photo Lab but Sami still knew his body well. Every muscle, every curve, every place Lucas loved to be touched and kissed.

She moved all the way back up his chest before bringing their lips into contact again. Her tongue rolled teasingly along his lips and he let her tongue slip inside his mouth, where she began caressing the inside of his mouth playfully. Her hands left his chest and move lower, making contact with the area below his waist. Her fingers traced the outline of his erection through the pants he was still wearing. He stifled the groan building up in his throat as he moved his hands to help her unbuckle the belt and pull off the pants he was wearing.

Her fingers gripped the waistband of his boxers and lowered them so that his arousal could escape it's last confinement. Lucas squeezed his eyes shut and surrendered to the intense pleasure the feeling of Sami's hot pulsing tongue as it lapped between his thighs. He finally opened his eyes and watched himself disappear into the sultry depths of her mouth. Her tongue slid up and down his length and Lucas knew he had to stop her or it would be over before it had even started.

Sami felt him pulling away from her slightly and smiled seductively up at him, "Should we continue this in my bedroom?" she asked him as he trailed his finger down her bare arm, causing her to shiver with anticipation. He wordlessly wrapped his muscular arms around her taut waist and she curled her legs around his waist automatically. Their mouth continued to mingle together, taking in the taste and feel of each other like they never wanted to be separated. Lucas barely managed to keep his balance as he walked through the living room, almost crashing into the wall instead of walking through the door, claiming Sami's mouth as his own at the same time. He finally laid her down on the bed.

Slowly, he edged his body hers, not enough so he was crushing her but enough so that the smoldering heat was trapped between their aching bodies. He needed her tonight, the same way she had told him she needed him. He needed to hold her, tangible in his arms, to believe her words and his own feelings as well. Every muscle in his body burned with a tension that had come from wanting Sami for all those months. He sensuously licked the shell of her ear, going down until he reached her sensitive earlobe, which he took between his teeth and bit down gently on. His fingers lowered the straps of the dress and peeled them off her shoulders. Lucas kissed the bare skin where the left strap had been before continuing to strip away one of the only things that was keeping him from having Sami completely.

Her breasts were bare underneath the dress and he paused to take in the sight of her full, luscious breasts, "Sami, you're practically naked underneath this dress." he said huskily, cupping each of her breasts in his hands.

"Built-in bra." she managed to squeak out as her nipples peaked underneath the delectable sultriness of his strong hands. As she wriggled out of her dress the rest of the way, Lucas gently kneaded her breasts, letting them run between his fingers. He pulled her left nipple into her mouth as sucked on it lustfully. He pulled away from her chest and blew on the nipple still wet from his ministrations, causing the nipple to tighten even more. Sami let out a little sigh as Lucas began rolling his tongue over her right nipple now, making sure it got the same amount of attention her left nipple had. His eyes locked onto the only article of clothing left on her body and he removed the scrap of red lace, finally giving his access to her entire body. His tongue slid down her flesh, dipping inside her belly-button momentarily to taste the sweetness there.

He made it down to her nest of blonde curls and lowered her face to her mound, inhaling her unique feminine scent. He ran his tongue along her wet slit before delving inside her soft folds. Sami drew in a sharp breath as his tongue probed inside her. She was already moist and slick with desire as Lucas' tongue pushed inside her in a caress that almost made her lose it right there. Lucas began to feel dizzy with enjoyment as he lapped at the juices from her center, feeling Sami's hips buck underneath him.

His mouth finally moved back up to her mouth, claiming her as his own once more. They continued their thirsty kissing until Sami pushed him away from her slightly, her baby blue eyes burning desperately into his. Her hands took hold of his shaft, positioning it outside her entrance. Lucas needed no further invitation and her buried himself in her scorching heat. She cried out when he first entered her but was quickly quieted when Lucas' mouth latched onto hers, continuing to drive into her with a force of total passion and craving for Sami, body and soul. He thrust into her hot, tight recesses and Sami drew in a deep breath as he continued to plunge deeper inside her. Her nails dug into the muscular pads of his shoulders for a few seconds before her nails raked down his back, clutching his firm, muscular ass. She greedily pulled Lucas closer as she continued raising her hips to meet his thrusts. Her eyeteeth sunk into the skin of his shoulder, causing a small growl to erupt from Lucas' throat.

Sami finally lost the remaining control she had in her and went limp in his arms, crying out at the feeling of the tension leaving her body. After a few more thrusts, Lucas also climaxed and nuzzled his face into her floral scented hair. Her hands trailed lazily up and down his back as their breathing eventually slowed.

"Happy Valentines Day, Lucas." she murmured, revelling in the fact that his sweat-dampened body was still covering her own, like a warm blanket. He kissed her affectionately on her kiss-swollen lips before replying.

"Happy Valentines Day." he replied softly as they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, the only place they truly belonged.


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Lucas' eyelids fluttered open and he shifted positions on Sami's bed so that he was looking down at the warm, enticing body lying next to him. Sami was still sleeping, her hands resting on his chest. Lucas smiled softly and leaned down to begin placing little butterfly kisses on her face. He started on her smooth forehead, then trailed down one cheek and moved along her jaw-line.

"Mmm." Sami let out a purr of approval as she opened her eyes to meet Lucas' chocolate brown ones. She sat up in the bed and pressed her lips against Lucas' before saying anything.

"Good morning." she whispered, squeezing his right hand and gazing up at him adoringly. She couldn't remember the last time she had woken up feeling this complete and this happy. There had been those other times when Lucas had spent the night, but they were nothing like this. She finally knew that he felt the same way she did and that he understood that he was the only she wanted to be with.

"Good morning." he responded, nuzzling her neck before checking the clock that hung in Sami's room. When he noticed the time, he turned back to Sami with a look of remorse on his face.

"I've got to go, baby." he said in a hoarse voice, "I promised my mom I'd get some things to her by noon and I still have to go pick them up at Salem Place."

Sami looked disappointed, "Okay." she said finally, but held onto his arm, "Lucas, what happened last night was one of the most incredible things I've ever experienced. Thank you."

He smiled gratefully at her, "It was the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me too." he told her, "You don't need to thank me."

"I could meet you at the Java Café for lunch after you give your mom whatever you need to give her." Sami said hopefully.

"I'd love that." he answered. Sami raised on of his hands to her face and kissed his fingertips. Lucas had heard that your fingertips were one of the most sensitive places on your body and he believed it, especially when Sami ran her tongue across his fingertips delicately, causing all the nerve cells in his body to feel like they were on fire.

"I love you." she said once she had let his hand fall back down onto the bed. Lucas loved the way she said that to him. She could say it to him over one hundred times a day and he would never get tired of hearing it.

"And I love you." he told her, giving her one last kiss before relocating his boxers and leaving her bedroom. Sami sighed happily and fell back against her pillows, pushing her tangled blonde hair out of her eyes. It was still so hard for her to believe that everything had turned out so well. Lucas was hers. And she would make sure that nothing would ever change that.

Lucas walked down the streets of Salem Place after he had finished talking with his mother. He made his way towards the Java Café, his fingers touching the velvet case that sat in his pocket. He had seen the bracelet in the jewellery store window and it had reminded him so much of Sami, he had to get it for her. He was in such a good mood, he had even went so far as to say hi to Nicole that afternoon, who had been with Brady.

Sami wasn't at the café yet but he was early so he slid into one of the chairs at the café. He flipped through a newspaper half-heartedly as he waited for Sami to arrive. He heard a flurry of movement at the table behind him and heard the sickeningly sweet voice that was unmistakably Belle. He heard her mention his name and his back went rigid.

"I can't believe Sami is doing this to him." Belle went on, ignoring the warning look on Shawn's face, "She is doing everything she can to use him to make Brandon jealous and he doesn't even see it. She doesn't care about him at all and I just feel awful for him. No one deserves to be treated like that."

"Belle he is sitting right behind you." Shawn hissed, keeping his voice down so Lucas wouldn't hear him, "And you don't even know if that's true or not."

"Yes I do." Belle shot back, acting as if she hadn't heard his comment about Lucas sitting right behind them, "I heard Nicole tell Brady that Sami was the one who got Nicole to get Brandon back in Salem. And Nicole and Sami have become very close. Why would Sami voluntarily spend time with Nicole Kiriakas, unless she wanted to get back together with Nicole's brother? Sami has never cared about Lucas and she never will. Someone should find a way to tell Lucas that before he humiliates himself even more."

"It looks like you've already done that." Shawn retorted, shooting his girlfriend a look of disgust. He didn't know what had gotten into Belle lately. She was getting so catty and what she had just done to Lucas was horrible. Ever since Brandon had come back, all Belle seemed to want to talk about was Brandon and how Sami didn't deserve to get him back. Once again, he wished he could spend more time with Jan. The brief conversation he had with her at the auction had been great. Spending time with Jan would definitely be more enjoyable than spending time with Belle these days.

Lucas didn't turn around to look at Belle and Shawn, he couldn't move. He was frozen, unable to decide what to do. He wanted to scream, he wanted to hit someone. He didn't even know who he wanted to hit, whether it was Belle, Brandon or Sami. Then he realized he was most angry at himself. For being stupid enough to believe Sami, for being stupid enough to let his guard down and reveal to her how he felt. And for being stupid enough to think that things were going to work out great for himself and Sami. They wouldn't. Not when the only one Sami wanted was obviously Brandon.

His anger and mortification slowly ebbed away, leaving him feeling drained of any emotions except loss and wishfulness. He wished he had been the one that had been able to capture Sami's heart, instead of Austin and Brandon. But they must have had something Sami wanted, something that he never had, that he would never have. He felt like a complete idiot. The way she had looked at him last night, there had been no doubt in his mind that she cared about him. She really was an ace liar. She didn't actually care about him, he was just another instrument she had used to try and get Brandon back.

He was so preoccupied with these thoughts, he didn't hear Sami approach him. Only when she slid into the chair across from him and placed her hand over his did he realize she was there.

"Sorry, I'm late, I-" Sami started, then watched in confusion as Lucas abruptly stood up. His anger returned and his dark eyes seared into Sami's angrily for a moment before he turned and stalked away from her. Sami stared after him in shock. She had no idea what had just happened. Everything had been fine between them this morning and now he had ran away from her. And that look. That wounded, furious, 'I'll-never-forgive-you-for-this' look he had given her just before bolting in the other direction.

Sami propped her elbows onto the table, letting her forehead rest on the palms of her hands. Belle turned around to see the dismayed expression on her sister's face and then turned back to Shawn with a catty smile on her cherubic face.

"That should teach Sami not to try and get Brandon back." Belle told Shawn in a low voice, "Brandon's too good for her. I bet there's lots of nice women who would love to date him."

"That's good to know, Belle." Shawn said sarcastically, growing more fed up with his girlfriend at every word that came out of her mouth. If she liked Brandon so much, maybe she should just go try and get him. Shawn stifled a sigh as he tried to figure out a way to cut this date short so he could talk to Jan or Phillip, anyone but Belle. He tuned Belle out and looked over at the confused expression on Sami's face and felt a pang of sympathy for her. He didn't know what her intentions were concerning Lucas and Brandon but he had a feeling that Belle wasn't one-hundred percent accurate with her theory about Sami wanting to be with Brandon. If she was, then why would Lucas' behaviour upset her so much?


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

It was early evening when Sami finally arrived back at her apartment building and knocked on the door to Lucas' apartment. After he had left her in Salem Place, she had fallen apart and went looking everywhere for Nicole. She had needed Nicole's advice on what she was supposed to do next but she hadn't been able to find Nicole anywhere. She knocked on the door tentatively, not sure how Lucas was going to react to her being there, especially since she didn't know what she had done to upset him in the first place.

Lucas didn't answer the door and Sami gave up on the idea of him letting her in. She knew he was in there, she had seen his car parked outside. He was just avoiding her. She unlocked the door with her spare key and stepped inside. Her eyes fell on the tanned, muscular arm hanging over the back of the couch and she cautiously made her way over to the couch. He was lying sprawled out on the couch, wearing nothing but a pair of dark green boxers, one arm hanging over the couch and the other at his side, holding the neck of a liquor bottle.

She snatched the liquor bottle out of his hands angrily, "I thought we had gotten rid of all this back in March." she snapped, watching as he opened his eyes and sat up. When he saw her, his eyes glazed over with a hurt and bewilderment. He looked like a puppy who had just eaten a bowl of marijuana-laced dog food.

"That's what liquor stores are for." he explained in a mock-patient, condescending tone, "You go buy more."

"Lucas, why are you doing this to yourself?" she whispered, feeling a rush of concern and fear for him. He looked so upset, so disappointed and lost all at the same time. All she wanted to do was help him and make everything okay for him. But she couldn't do that if she didn't even know what was wrong.

"What I did to myself?" he laughed bitterly, standing up so he was facing her, "I'm not doing anything wrong. I just want to forget everything, to forget what you did to me!"

Sami stepped backwards at his words, "What did I do?" she asked him softly.

"Oh, that's fantastic, you're going to try and play innocent with me." Lucas said sarcastically, "It's not going to work again. Why don't you just forget it and go find Brandon? He's the one you really want, right?"

Sami's eyes widened, "Why are we back to this again? Brandon means nothing to me. You're the only man that matters to me. You have to trust me." Impulsively, she pulled him into her arms. Her palms pressed against his shoulder blades and she rested her head on his chest. He didn't push her away but he didn't respond to her touch either. His arms remained at his sides, not even relaxing into her arms. Sami moved away from him and reached up to run her fingers through his dishevelled hair. But before she could, he took hold of her wrist.

"Why have you been spending so much time around Nicole?" he asked her suddenly and Sami started at the abrupt question. What did Nicole have to do with anything? She didn't want to tell him that she had worked so hard to win him over that she had to resort to getting Nicole to help her. But her silence wasn't noticed by Lucas, who continued to speak.

"I know that you're the one who got Brandon back in Salem." Sami's mind raced with this revelation as she wondered who had told Lucas this piece of information. If it had been Nicole, Sami was going to make sure Brady never went near her again, "Sami, you wanted Brandon in Salem for one reason. To get him back."

"I can explain." she began but Lucas cut her off.

"There is nothing to explain." he interrupted, "I get it, okay? But why, Sami? I always tried to be there for you and not tell you how I felt so I wouldn't make things harder on you. Did you have to hear me say it just for the sake of raising your self-esteem or something? Was it a game to you?"

"It wasn't a game-" she protested.

"I don't want to hear it." he turned away from her and flopped back down on the couch, "You know the truth now, does that make you feel good, Sami? But guess what? The game is over." he had his bottle back from Sami and was banging it against the end table for emphasis.

"Lucas, give me a chance to-"

"No!" Lucas stood up again and began pushing her towards the door, ignoring her protests, "Just get out and leave me alone!" He slammed the door as soon as she was out of his apartment but she had still seen his face.

Lucas Roberts was crying. Over her.

She heard him lock the door and quickly pulled out her key. She was not going to leave him alone like that. She unlocked the door but she couldn't get it open. She realized he must have wedged something up against the door so she couldn't get in. She started banging on the door frantically, begging him to let her inside. She had been banging at his door for around five minutes when a hand clamped onto her shoulder. Kate Roberts whirled Sami around and glared at her.

"What do you think you are doing? Can you not see that Lucas wants nothing to do with you? He never has." Kate snapped indignantly, wishing this blonde wench would leave her son alone. That was the last straw for Sami. Kate watched in surprise as crystal rivulets began coursing down Sami's cheeks, as if Kate had just caused the dam inside her to burst.

"You-you- can cry." Kate stammered in mock amazement, not feeling more than the slightest twinge of compassion for Sami, "Can you bleed too?"

"Not funny." Sami sobbed, "I didn't mean to- I never wanted to hurt him- I don't understand why he- I don't want Brandon- I can't-" the heartbroken sobs erupting from deep inside her made it impossible for Sami to finish a complete sentence.

"I don't have time for this." Kate huffed, "Go find a paper bag to breathe into or something." she began knocking on Lucas' door.

"Lucas, let me in!" Kate called through the door. Her request was met by glass shattering from inside the apartment and Lucas yelling, "Go away!"

Sami sunk onto her knees, "It's all my fault. It wasn't supposed to end up this way. How can he think that I don't love him? Why do I always have to mess everything up?"

Kate turned around to stare accusingly at Sami, "You. What have you done to him this time?"

"I'm sorry." Sami wailed, her tears soaking the front of her shirt, "I'm so sorry. This is just a mistake. I don't want it to be like this." Sami knew she wasn't apologizing to Kate but to Lucas, who would probably never forgive her.

Kate finally saw how upset Sami was and suddenly remembered her promise to Roman to make peace with his daughter. She wanted more than anything else to live up to that promise. She helped Sami to feet and led her back into Sami's apartment. Handing Sami a box of tissues, she asked Sami what had happened. Sami didn't know why, but she found herself telling the entire story to Kate, starting from her and Lucas' kiss in the clown up to that present day. The only part she left out was the time they had spent together in her bed the night before.

Kate listened to the entire thing with growing amazement and admiration for Sami. When Sami finished, she shook her head, "You actually went through all that trouble for Lucas?"

Sami nodded, "I don't blame you for not believing it but Lucas means everything to me. I love him so much and I-" she stopped herself and grimaced, "Why am I telling you this? We hate each other."

"But we don't have to." Kate soothed, "We could even be friends someday if we tried hard enough. After all, I did promise your father I'd try and get along with you."

Sami sniffled, "When the only friend I've got left is you, I know I'm in trouble." Kate stiffened and cleared her throat, trying to hide her indignation at Sami's words.

"Well, maybe we don't have to be friends." Kate countered, "But that doesn't mean we have to hate each other. And if you really care about my son and if he really cares about you, then I won't try and come between you anymore."

"I think it's a little late for that." Sami murmured harshly, "He'll probably never speak to me again. When I get my hands on the little bitch that told Lucas about me getting Brandon coming back to Salem, I am going to make her life a living hell."

*********************************************************************************************

Sami walked into the Brady Pub the next evening and spotted Nicole sitting at a booth near the one Shawn and Jan were sharing. Sami headed towards Nicole, her mouth set in a grim line. She had called Nicole and told her to meet her and at the Brady Pub that afternoon, acting as if nothing was wrong. But now she was going to make Nicole pay.

"Hey, Sami!" Nicole said cheerfully, "How's it going with you and L-" before Nicole could finish, Sami brought her hand back, then swung it across Nicole's face as hard as she could. Nicole reached up to hold her affected cheek, staring up at Sami in horror.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Nicole demanded, carefully watching Sami's hands, not wanting to be hit again. Sami stared at Nicole in disgust.

"You know exactly what is wrong." Sami retorted furiously, not noticing that Shawn and Jan had turned around and were watching her, "You told Lucas that I had gotten Brandon back in Salem. What were you thinking? How could you do this me, especially after I told you how I felt about Lucas?"

Shawn coughed loudly, getting his cousin's attention, "Sami, Nicole wasn't the one who told Lucas." Shawn announced. Sami turned to face Shawn, her forehead crinkling slightly in confusion.

"Then who?" she asked.

Shawn sighed regretfully and ran a hand through his brown hair, "It was Belle. She's been acting really strange ever since Brandon came back, like she's out to get you. She was talking really loud over at the Java Café earlier about how you didn't care about him and how you were using him to make Brandon jealous."

Sami eyes widened in shock, then her eyes began flaming with anger, "That little bitch! Where is she? I am going to make her so sorry."

Nicole noticed the wild look in Sami's eye and knew Sami would undoubtably end up doing something she would regret if she didn't stop her. She stood up and grabbed Sami's arm.

"I'll take care of Belle." Nicole said firmly, "You should go home and try to talk to Lucas. He's pretty pissed off, isn't he?"

Sami nodded wordlessly, grateful that Nicole was being so understanding, "Thank you. And I'm sorry about slapping you, I just thought-" 

Nicole held up one hand to silence her, "Don't worry about it. Just go get your man back." she smiled warmly at Sami, who managed a weak smile in return.

Sami arrived back at the door to Lucas' apartment and tried knocking again.

"Lucas? It's Sami. Can I please come in? I really need to talk to you." her words were met with silence and Sami sighed. She didn't know what she was going to have to do to get him to give her a chance but she had a feeling it was going to take some time. And she didn't want to have to wait to be with him. She had already waited long enough.

She slipped inside her bedroom and pulled on her nightgown. Not feeling like there was anything else she could do, she crawled underneath her blankets. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine that Lucas was lying next to her, with his arms wrapped protectively around her waist as she slipped into a troubled sleep.


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Nicole pushed open the door to the Penthouse Grill and immediately looked around for signs of her brother or Belle. Brandon had been at the mansion earlier and had told Nicole he had to meet Belle at the Penthouse Grill. Belle had wanted to talk to him about something very important, she remembered Brandon telling her. When she finally saw the two of them, she gasped loudly. Brandon and Belle had just stood up and were now kissing. Nicole winced at the sight. Belle and her brother? That was harshly disgusting.

Brandon noticed Nicole standing at the front of the restaurant and began walking towards her.

"What are you doing here, Nicky?" he asked her, his eyes distracted. Before she could answer, he looked at his watch and brushed past her, "I'll talk to you later. I have to go do something."

He left the restaurant and Belle tried to get past Nicole to leave the restaurant as well. But Nicole grabbed her arm and squeezed it in a painfully tight grip.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nicole glowered at the petite blonde, "I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Belle asked innocently, acting as though she didn't notice the seething look on Nicole's face.

"Why did you purposely wreck Sami's relationship with Lucas?" Nicole questioned her, "Why did you stick your nose where it didn't belong?" 

Nicole's nails dug into her arm and Belle flinched, "It's none of your business. I don't know why you even care. Sami's just using you to get Brandon back, just like she was using Lucas. But she's not going to get Brandon. Because he's mine."

Nicole's voice was caustic, "Brandon would be insane to want to be with you. What about Shawn? You can't just string two guys along, you little slut."

Belle looked offended, "I am not a slut. I'm just going to break up with Shawn. He was starting to bore me anyway. He wouldn't even have sex with me, can you believe it? I bet Brandon will have sex with me."

"Well, he did have sex with Lexie so his standards can't be that high." Nicole mumbled, wondering if Belle realized that she had contradicted herself. She tried telling Nicole that she wasn't a slut but yet she confessed to breaking up with Shawn because he wouldn't have sex with her. It looked like virginous little Belle didn't want to be virginous anymore. 

Nicole dug her nails in deeper to Belle's arm, drawing tiny drops of crimson to the surface, causing Belle to yelp in pain, "It doesn't matter what you do, Nicole! I will have Brandon, Sami's going top be alone like she deserves to be and I'll still be friends with Shawn. And Sami is going to be so upset that I ran off with her lover, she won't even try to come after me. She's probably take a gun to her head or something."

"What has gotten into you?" Nicole stared at Belle in dismay, "You used to be so nice. I can't believe you're talking about your own sister this way."

"I don't care." Belle's chin jutted out stubbornly, "It's Sami's fault my parents aren't together and I want to make her sorry. Besides, I'm sick of being perfect."

"So, you're pissed about your parents splitting up and you're taking it out on Sami?" Nicole was thoroughly disgusted now, "God, when are you going to grow up? The world does not revolve around you. There are so many people who are worse off than you."

"I don't have to listen to this." Belle replied in a whiny, high-pitched voice, pulling away from Nicole, "I want to go home right now." She left the Penthouse Grill and Nicole went after her.

"I wasn't finished with you yet." Nicole informed Belle, "Sami slapped me a little while ago because she thought I told Lucas about Brandon coming back to Salem when you were the one who opened your big mouth. I didn't appreciate getting slapped for you so it's your turn now."

Nicole put everything she could into that one slap. She slapped Belle so hard she went flying backwards and landed on the ground in the parking lot. Long scratches from Nicole's nails lined one side of Belle's face as she looked up at Nicole in amazement.

"And I'm going to make sure that Shawn never has anything to do with you ever again." Nicole added, beginning to walk off, "And that Jan gets Shawn so that she'll leave me alone." Nicole mumbled under her breath. She drove back to the Brady Pub and was relieved to see that Shawn and Jan were still inside.

Nicole came inside just in time to hear Shawn say, "I'm sorry about your parents. But if you need someone to talk to, I'll always be here." Jan nodded, keeping her eyes lowered, feigning sadness. Nicole smirked at the two of them. Jan had learned from her well. If you made a guy pity you, it was so much easier to sink your claws into him.

Nicole sat down next to Shawn and placed her hand over his comfortingly, "Shawn, I have some bad news and it's going to be very hard for you to hear."

Shawn looked at Nicole in confusion, "What is it?"

Nicole paused dramatically, making sure she had Jan and Shawn's complete attention, "I saw Belle at the Penthouse Grill. She was with my brother. And they were kissing." Shawn sucked in his breath and Jan covered a grin behind her hand, "She pretty much told me that she's planning on breaking up with you because you won't satisfy her needs and because she likes Brandon better."

Shawn was silent for a few minutes, then finally spoke, "Maybe it was for the best." he mumbled, his voice thick with emotion, "We were starting to grow apart and I have been getting really sick of her. But I can't believe that it's actually over. We went through so much together and now everything has fallen apart. I wasted so much time on her."

"I'm sorry, Shawn." Jan told him in a small voice, her eyes giving away the fact that this piece of news made her deliriously happy. Belle was finally out of the picture. That meant she didn't have to kill Belle. Once Shawn got over Belle completely, which Jan was sure wouldn't take very long, she would get to be with him.

"It's okay." Shawn responded, trying to keep from looking upset, "It may take me a while to move on though. But once I do, I'm sure I'll find someone else. Someone better...." his voice trailed off and his eyes bore into Jan's. Jan lowered her eyes so that Shawn couldn't see how they were sparkling triumphantly. Nicole watched the entire exchange and pulled Jan aside.

"There, you're going to get Shawn." Nicole told Jan, "But don't throw yourself at him right away. He'd hate that. You have to take it slow, be his friend and comfort him. Then you make your move."

Jan scowled, "I know that. I'm not stupid, you know. But we're still best friends right?"

"Right." Nicole gave Jan a fake smile. It wasn't enough to convince Jan though, who tilted her head and stared pleadingly into Nicole's eyes.

"You like Sami better than me." Jan stated, "How can we be best friends if you like her better than me? It's not fair!" she stamped her foot angrily.

"Of course I like you better than Sami." Nicole lied, "How can you ask such a silly question? Now, go over there and play with Shawn." she addressed Jan as if she were talking to a child but Jan didn't seem to notice.

"You do like Sami better than me! I think Sami's your best friend." Jan continued her childish rant, causing Nicole's impatience to further decrease, "Sami's going to pay for this. No one steals my best friend."

"Fine, you and Sami are both my best friends." Nicole compromised, not understanding how Jan could care so much about who Nicole's best friend was when she was so close to getting Shawn. This girl obviously did not have her priorities straight.

Jan seemed satisfied with that answer and went back to Shawn. Nicole's shoulder dropped in relief and as she drove back towards the mansion, she wondered if Sami had made amends with Lucas yet.

Brandon sighed in irritation and stopped knocking on the door to Sami's apartment. He grabbed the doorknob and to his surprise, the door popped open. Sami had to have a lot on her mind if she forgot to lock her apartment door. Maybe she had finally realized that he hated her and wanted her out of his life for good. All the lights were off and he made his way through the dark apartment. He hit his shin on something hard and swore under his breath. When had Sami moved the coffee table there?

He heard muffled noises coming from her bedroom and stepped inside the dark room. He could make out Sami's form in the bed. She was tossing and turning in the bed, making little whimpering sounds and muttering one word over and over in her sleep. He frowned to make out what she was saying. It sounded a little bit like liver. Why would she be talking about liver in her sleep? Brandon grimaced.

He heard her let out another whimper and he gave her a malicious sneer. He didn't know exactly what was going through her mind but he could tell she was miserable. And he was going to make her even more miserable. He went around to her side of the bed and shook her roughly. She started awake and her eyes widened when she noticed him standing next to her bed.

"Brandon, what are you doing here?" she asked, facing the last person she wanted to see at that moment.


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Brandon's lip curled as he leered down at Sami, who was now fully awake and wondering what Brandon Walker was doing in her apartment. She pushed her blankets to the foot of her bed and continued to gaze at Brandon inquisitively. The slightly offended expression on Sami''s face did not go unnoticed by Brandon, who shoved his hand into the pocket of his jeans before replying.

"I came here to tell you to leave me alone." Brandon finally answered, "Belle told me that you've been trying to get me back. It's never going to happen, Sami. Stop trying to ruin my life. It's your fault I came back to this town in the first place."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Sami said icily, realizing this was the first time she had actually spoken to Brandon since he had returned, "I do not want anything to do with you."

"You're lying." Brandon shot back, "You convinced Nicole to get me back in Salem. You've been scheming against me right from the start, haven't you?"

Sami nodded her head, "In a way, I guess I have been."

Brandon smiled triumphantly, "I knew I was right. But I just wish you would get it through your head that I don't want to be with you. I hate you and what you did to me is unforgivable."

"That's nice." Sami said sarcastically, "Why don't you shut up so I can finish what I was trying to tell you?"

Brandon fell silent and Sami edged onto the end of her bed, farther away from him, "You were part of my scheme, but not in the way you think you were. I was using you to get someone else. I got Nicole to bring you back to Salem so I could ignore you and show this person that I loved them and I didn't care about you anymore. And it almost worked."

"Almost?" Brandon's face darkened as he stepped towards her, "But of course it didn't work because this person must have realized that he didn't want to be with you. Maybe you''re just unlovable."

"I am not." Sami whispered, her voice lacking conviction. She thought about Lucas and how he wouldn't even let her try to explain to him what had happened. Maybe he didn't believe in her or trust her, meaning he couldn't love her.

"You're also a manipulative bitch." Brandon continued, stepping towards her ominously, "Did you really think I was going to let you get away with using me to get another guy? No one treats me like that."

Sami laughed nervously, "There's nothing you can do. Now get out of my apartment or I'll scream."

"When I get through with you, you won't have the strength to scream." Brandon promised her, his eyes black and fierce. He was pissed. And Sami knew from experience how out of control he could get when someone made him angry.

She clenched her fist and prepared to make contact with his face but Brandon quickly took hold of her, forcing her down onto the bed.

"Get off of me." she commanded, kicking him in the leg. Brandon didn't even wince, instead her pressed her further down into the bed. He decreased the pressure on her wrist and prepared to hit her. Sami saw his closed fist coming at her and instinctively rolled over, landing on the floor beside her bed with a soft thud. Brandon went over to her and gritted his teeth.

Sami was shaking slightly from fear. She had heard the dull noise Brandon''s fist made when it hit the bed. He had been planning on hitting her hard. And he wasn't giving up. He had pretty much cornered her and there was no way she could run away from him.

"Lucas!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Lucas, help me!"

"Shut up!" Brandon whispered harshly, covering her mouth with his palm. Sami looked away from him, out into her living room. She waited for Lucas to come through the door. But he didn't.

Brandon grabbed a clump of Sami's hair and yanked her head backwards so he was looking into her frightened eyes. He suddenly felt the burning sensation of her teeth digging into his hand and pulled his hand away, yelping angrily. Sami took a deep breath and yelled Lucas' name one last time.

"You broke the skin." Brandon glared at her, then stood up and kicked her hard in the ribs, "You are going to pay for that, you whore." he kicked her in her ribs a few more times. Sami closed her eyes, trying to roll out of his kicking range. He brought his foot back to kick her again, planning to kick her harder than he had the last three times put together when someone crashed through the door to the bedroom.

Sami lifted her head and watched as Lucas hurried over to Brandon and shoved him away from Sami, causing Brandon to topple over the other side of the bed. Brandon stood up and Sami watched as he quickly brought his fist into contact with the side of Lucas' face. Lucas staggered backwards a little bit, then regained his composure and tackled Brandon to the floor. Sami could hear the sound of the punches but she was remained frozen on the floor. She pulled herself onto the bed just in time to see Lucas pull Brandon to his feet and slam him against her bedroom wall.

"Get out of here." Lucas ordered Brandon, who stumbled out of the bedroom. Lucas followed him out of the room, making sure he left the apartment before going back inside to see Sami. He went into her bedroom and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Did he hurt you?" Lucas asked gruffly, not seeing any signs of damage on her face.

Sami shook her head, "My ribs might be a little banged up but other than that, I'm fine." she noticed that Lucas' eye was getting swollen from Brandon's first punch. She gently reached up to brush her fingers along the swelling. Lucas flinched involuntarily, not so much from pain but from Sami touching him. Sami stood up.

"Don't move, I''m going to go get you some ice." she told him, leaving him sitting on the edge of the bed. She returned a minute later, holding an ice pack. Lucas tried to smile at her, but he had the feeling the grimaced instead. He put the ice over his eye and got to his feet.

"I guess I should leave now." he muttered, starting to walk away. But Sami wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him back onto the bed before he could leave the room. Lucas stared at her in surprise, then tried to pry her arms off him.

"Sami, let go of me." he said, unable to escape her desperate embrace.

"No." she said firmly, "I'm not letting you leave until you let me tell you something."

"Fine." Lucas sighed reluctantly, not seeing any other way of getting out of her apartment any time soon.

"I did get Nicole to bring Brandon back to Salem." Sami confessed, feeling Lucas stiffen at those words, "But not because I wanted to be with him. I was trying to prove to you that I loved you."

"And how did Brandon help you do this?" Lucas questioned her.

"Because you didn't believe me when I first told you I loved you." Sami tried to explain, "I thought if I got Brandon back in town, signed the annulment papers, then ignored him and only paid attention to you, then you would understand how I felt."

"Sami....." Lucas'' voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Her explanation had left him at a complete loss for words.

"It was never a game." Sami added, "What happened that night...... I never would have gone through with it if I didn't love you. I would never put myself through that. I thought you knew me well enough to be able to understand that."

Her eyes were filling up but she continued anyway, "And yesterday and today were the worst days of my life." she cried softly, "Because I thought I had lost you. I thought you were never going to speak to me again and that I'd never have the chance to tell you the truth."

"Sami, I'm sorry." Lucas wrapped his arms around her, finally returning her embrace, "I should have given you a chance. I acted like a-"

"It wasn't your fault." Sami stopped him from finishing his sentence, "I heard what happened at Salem Place with Belle. You must have felt so horrible. I can''t believe Belle would do that to you. But I still hope that can forgive me."

Lucas kissed the tip of her nose affectionately, "There's nothing to forgive. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I was just trying to spare us both some feelings because I thought you didn't really care about me. So I pushed you away. I''m sorry."

Lucas could feel her tears dampening his bare chest as he held her. Sami couldn't bring herself to stop crying now that he was holding her. Her vision was so blurred by her tears that she didn't realize Lucas was going to kiss her until she felt his lips press gently against her own. She closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, allowing his tongue to probe deep into her mouth intimately. Her eager fingers ran over every inch of his muscular body. It had only been two nights since they had last kissed but it felt like a lot longer to Sami. When they separated, both of them were breathing hard.

"I love you." Sami told her as soon as she was breathing normally again.

"I know." Lucas smiled, fondling her face in his hands, "And I love you too." Their lips met again, their kisses continuing to ease away any pain of the last two days.

* * *

  


Sami, Jan and Nicole all jumped out of Brady's car and Sami sighed with relief when she saw the two familiar figures standing near the plane.

"Good, we didn't miss them." Sami unwrapped the box and pulled out the pie, her eyes glinting mischievously, "We better hurry before they get on the plane."

Shawn stared at the pie in confusion, "What are you going to do with that, Sami?" he asked.

Lucas and Sami shared a knowing smile. Lucas knew exactly what Sami planned to do with the pie, so did Nicole and Jan. In fact, Lucas had been the one who had given Sami the idea.

"I'm going to give Belle a present." Sami told him innocently, "I hope she likes blueberry pie." with that, Sami, Jan and Nicole all rushed over to Belle and Brandon, who were getting closer and closer to the plane. The three women caught up to Belle and Brandon. Sami cleared her throat loudly, causing both Belle and Brandon to turn around.

As soon as Belle was turned around, Sami flung the pie at her sister. It hit Belle square in the face, the blue filling oozing out of the pie and dripping onto Belle's white designer jacket. Belle immediately began crying and turned to Brandon for comfort.

"Look what they did to my jacket." she wailed, not seeing the disgusted look on Brandon''s face, "And my nose really hurts. I think she broke it."

"Dammit, Sami, why did you have to do that?" Brandon shook his head angrily, "Now I won't be able to enjoy her as much. There's nothing sexy about a broken nose."

Sami smirked at her ex-husband, "Have a nice life with that bitch, Brandon. If you were anyone else, I might feel sorry for you. But the two of you deserve each other."

Sami, Jan and Nicole all walked away but were still in earshot when Brandon told Belle she couldn't go clean her face because if she did they would miss their plane. Sami burst out laughing and Nicole and Jan started laughing along with her.

"I can't believe she's finally gone." Jan exclaimed gleefully, "Now that she's left with Brandon to got live in India with him, Shawn has to forget her. Then he'll be all mine."

Sami broke into another huge smile, unable to stop the feeling of immense happiness she felt that day. She and Lucas were happy together and Brandon and Belle were both gone. And hopefully they would never come back.


End file.
